The packaging of articles

Abstract: A pack 10 of bottles 14 comprises a plurality of layers 12. Each layer 12 has its bottles 14 packed in a close packed side-by-side array, the array being hexagonal. The layers 12 are packed in a sleeve 18 of a plastics material. The sleeve 18 is selected to have a perimetral dimension slightly less than a peripheral dimension of each layer 12 such that the layers 12, once packed in the sleeve, are constrained against movement.

Description: THIS INVENTION relates to the packaging of articles. More particularly, the invention relates to holder in which articles are packaged. The articles in question are preferably cylindrical articles which can stand, unsupported, on their ends. The invention has particular application in the packaging of lightweight plastics bottles. FR-A-2 205 885 discloses a retractable bracelet-like hood for stabilising palletised loads, such as plastic bottles, arranged in bracketed piles. The bracelet is open at its upper and lower ends and binds only a number of upper rows of the piles to prevent separation of the piles, the lower portion naturally being immobilised by the encasement of the packages and the adherence to the palette owing to the inherent weight of each pile. The invention of FR-A-2 205 885 is not suitable for non-palletised loads of loose articles. According to the invention there is provided a holder in which articles are packable, the holder including a flat sleeve of a resiliently flexible material having a body portion defining a pair of opposed side edges and a closed end seal portion characterised in that the end seal portion of the sleeve has a pair of opposed side edges converging inwardly from respective side edges of the body portion to an end edge of the end seal portion, the end edge being generally transverse to a longitudinal axis of the sleeve. The holder may be further characterised in that an included angle between the end edge and each side edge of the end seal portion is an obtuse angle to form a substantially gable-shaped end seal portion. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the holder is characterised in that the length of the end edge of the end seal portion is approximately 2/3 of width of the body portion of the sleeve and the length of each side edge of the end seal portion is approximately 1/3 of the width of the body portion of the sleeve. Then, it will be appreciated that the included angled will be approximately 120°. The holder may be in the form of a sleeve or tube of synthetic plastics material. More particularly, the holder may be characterised in that the sleeve is of a polyethylene material. In a preferred form of the invention, the sleeve is a blend of linear low density polyethylene and high density polyethylene. In this specification, the term "lay flat width" means half a perimetral dimension of the sleeve and "lay flat form" has a corresponding meaning. The invention is now described by way of example with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings. In the drawings, Figure 1 shows a plan view of a pack of articles comprising a holder, in accordance with the invention, packed with articles; Figure 2 shows a side view of a holder in accordance with a development of the invention; Figure 3 shows a plan view of the holder of Figure 2, in use once it has been packed with the articles; and Figure 4 shows a side view of the packed holder of Figure 2. In the drawings a holder, in accordance with the invention, in which articles are packable is illustrated and is designated generally by the reference numeral 10. The holder 10 includes a sleeve 18 which is of a polyethylene blend. More particularly, the sleeve 18 is a blend of linear low density polyethylene and high density polyethylene. The actual blend used will be dependant on the application of the sleeve 18. The sleeve 18 has a body portion 19 and an closed end seal portion 24. The end seal portion 24 has an end edge 26 which extends at substantially right angles to a longitudinal axis of the sleeve 18. The length of the end edge 26 is approximately 2/3 the lay flat width W of the sleeve 18. The end seal portion 24 further has side edges 28. A side edge 28 of the end seal portion 24 extends from each end of the end edge 26 to an associated side edge 30 of the sleeve 18 to form a substantially gable-shaped seal at the end of the sleeve 18. The length of each side edge 28 is selected to be approximately 1/3 the lay flat width W of the sleeve 18. It will be appreciated that the end edge 26 and the side edges 28 are formed in a single operation by heat welding. Further, with the dimensions of the end edge 26 and the side edges 28, as described above, an included angle A between the end edge 26 and each side edge 28 is approximately 120°. In preferred use, as shown in Figure 1, hexagonal layers 12 of bottles 14 are formed outside the sleeve 18. The circumferential dimension of the sleeve 18 is selected to be slightly less than the peripheral dimension of each layer 12 such that each layer 12 must be compressed slightly before the layer 12 is inserted into an open end 32 of the sleeve 18. The first layer 12 inserted into the sleeve 18 is inserted up to the dotted line 34 in Figure 2 of the drawings. When the layers 12 are packed into the sleeve 18, a distortion of the gable-shaped end seal portion 24 is caused resulting in ears or flaps 36 being formed at the end 18.1 of the sleeve 18, as shown in greater detail in Figures 3 and 4 of the drawings. The ends of these flaps 36 can be tied together in any appropriate manner, to serve as a handle for carrying or moving the bottles 14. Once the last layer 12 has been packed into the sleeve 18, a bottom seal 38 is formed in the sleeve 18 to close off the bottom opening 32 of the sleeve 18. It will be appreciated that the bottom seal 38 is spaced from the bottom of the last layer 12, as illustrated schematically at line 40, by a predetermined amount and, further, that the bottom seal extends the full width W of the sleeve 18. Excess material of the sleeve 18 between bottom 40 of the last layer 12 and the seal 38 is folded over, in the direction of arrows 42 to lie flat against the bottom 40 of the last layer 12 in the sleeve 18. When this excess material of the sleeve 18 is folded in the direction of the arrows 42, it imparts tension to that part of the sleeve 18 surrounding the bottom layer to maintain the rigidity of said last layer 12 in the sleeve 18. With this configuration of sleeve 18 and end seal portion 24, when a hexagonal layer 12 is inserted into the sleeve 18, there is a natural tendency for the parts of the sleeve 18 at two opposite sides of the hexagonal layer 12 to be pulled towards each other. Further, as described above, there is a natural tendency for the flaps 36 to be formed at the end 18.1 of the sleeve 18. By pulling these flaps 36 together, the end of the sleeve 18 is caused to adopt a natural hexagonal shape which is substantially the same size as that of the hexagonal layer 12 being packed. Further, once the flaps 36 have been fastened together, the top of the packed sleeve 18 is substantially flat and no undue force is placed upon the corner bottles in the top most layer 12. This is further facilitated by the natural hexagonal shape which the sleeve 18 adopts when the seal portion 24 is distorted upon the insertion of the first layer 12 into the sleeve 18. The fact that no undue forces are placed upon the corner bottles is a surprising, significant advantage which is imparted to the finished pack as the rejection of bottles 12 by bottle handling machinery is significantly reduced. By having the bottles 14 in each layer 12 nesting in recesses 15.11 formed between adjacent bottles 14 of an adjacent row and, by having the layers 12 constrained against movement by the sleeve 18, a stable hexagon is provided. Also, it will be appreciated that, conventionally, a base of each bottle 14 has a recess therein in which a neck of a bottle 14 in a subjacent layer can be received in a nesting manner such that the stability of the pack 10 so formed is further improved. It is a particular advantage of the invention that a stable pack is provided. The applicant has found that, with a pack having a hexagonal outline and using the sleeve 18 packaged as described above, the pack can be manhandled without significant damage to the bottles 14 in each layer 12 being caused. In addition, the pack can be relatively roughly handled without significant loss of shape of the pack resulting. Also, the fact that the bottles 14 in each layer 12 may be loose facilitates the unpacking of the bottles 14 from the pack, particularly by an automatic unpacking machine.

Claims: A holder 10 in which articles are packable, the holder 10 including a flat sleeve 18 of a resiliently flexible material having a body portion 19 defining a pair of opposed side edges 30 and a closed end seal portion 24 characterised in that the end seal portion 24 of the sleeve 18 has a pair of opposed side edges 28 converging inwardly from respective side edges 30 of the body portion 19 to an end edge 26 of the end seal portion 24, the end edge 26 being generally transverse to a longitudinal axis of the sleeve 18. The holder as claimed in Claim 1, characterised in that the length of the end edge 26 of the end seal portion 24 is approximately 2/3 of width of the body portion 19 of the sleeve 18 and the length of each side edge 28 of the end seal portion 24 is approximately 1/3 of the width of the body portion 19 of the sleeve 18. The holder as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, characterised in that the sleeve 18 is of a polyethylene material.

Inventors: O'NEIL JAMES MICHAEL, O'NEIL, JAMES MICHAEL
Applicants: METAL BOX CO SOUTH AFRICA, METAL BOX SOUTH AFRICA LIMITED
Application year: 1994
Main classification: B65D71
IPC codes: B65D71